. 


.  * 


MEDlrp 


BMTIgH 
\  EAST 
Av  AER8ICA 


AFRICA  HAS 
Presbyterian  missionaries 


AM(SdMUA 


S(0)UJTH”  / 
"WEST  .* 
^Protectorate 


OF  AFRICA 

ian ) 


Native  workers .  1,193 

Churches  .  549 

Self  supporting  churches.  26 

Communicants .  25,883 

New  communicants,  1  920- 

1921  .  2,683 

THERE  ARE 
537  Schools 
23,918  Pupils 

1  5  Hospitals  and  dispensaries 
52,674  Patients  in  1920-1921. 

The  Woman’s  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  the  U.  S.  A. 

156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Columbia  University  Libraries 


https://archive.org/details/penpictureofwestOOunse 


PEN  PICTURE 

of  the 

WEST  AFRICA  MISSION 


THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 
Department  for  Specific  Work 

THE  WOMAN’S  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS 


OF  THE  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  IN.THE  U.  S.  A. 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City 


Pen  Picture 

of  the 

West  Africa  Mission 


Afnca  -  \aJ 


Establishment 

On  the  Island  of  Corisco,  1850,  first  Station 
on  the  mainland  opened  at  Benito  1864.  Our 
Presbyterian  Board  took  over  from  the  Con- 
gregationalists  in  1871  the  Baraka  Station 
(Libreville),  the  place  where  the  first  Protestant 
Mission  work  in  this  region  was  established  in 
1842.  Angom  Station  opened  1881.  This  Sta¬ 
tion,  Baraka  and  Corisco  transferred  to  Paris 
Evangelical  Society  in  1892. 

Stations  in  Order  of  Founding 


Benito . 

. . . .1864 

MacLean  Memorial 

Batanga. .  . . 

. . . . 1885 

Station,  at 

Lolo- 

Efulen . 

. . . .1893 

dorf . 

. .1897 

Elat . 

. . . . 1895 

Metet . 

. .1909 

Foulassi . 

. .1916 

Sakbayeme . .  . 

. .1920 

Distinctive  Features 

Work  among  a  primitive,  superstitious  people 
easily  susceptible  to  the  Gospel  or  to  Moham¬ 
medanism. 


3 


Tribal  system  of  native  government  under 
foreign  control. 

Rapid  growth  of  the  Church  through  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  a  capable  native  ministry  and  tes¬ 
timony  of  individual  believers. 

Special  need  of  medical  and  child  welfare 
service. 

Situation 

The  West  Africa  Mission  lies  in  a  great  forest 
belt  just  north  of  the  Equator  and  chiefly  in 
the  southern  part  of  the  region  formerly  known 
as  German  Kamerun,  but  now  within  the  limits 
of  the  French  Mandate.  A  chain  of  Stations  has 
been  established  stretching  from  Batanga  on 
the  coast  past  beach  and  jungle  and  swamp, 
eastward  and  north-eastward  into  the  forests  of 
the  interior.  Each  Station  has  its  group  of  out¬ 
lying  points  where  Mission  work  is  conducted 
under  the  direction  of  the  central  Station.  The 
Mission  has  also  a  Station  at  Benito  on  the 
coast  of  Spanish  Guinea,  some  125  miles  south 
of  Batanga.  Under  French  rule  the  province  is 
known  as  the  Cameroun. 

Climate 

Damp  and  unhealthful.  During  the  early 
years  of  the  work  the  fever-breeding  climate 
was  a  constant  menace  to  the  workers,  but  the 
missionary  physicians  have  learned  how  to  cope 
with  the  dreaded  malaria,  thus  minimizing  one 
of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  the  missionary 
enterprise. 


4 


Products 

In  this  region  of  tropical  heat,  frequent  and 
heavy  rainfall  and  general  fertility,  the  prod¬ 
ucts  of  the  soil  are  the  main  food  dependence 
of  the  people  and  the  Mission  gardens  are  an 
important  contribution  to  the  resources  of  the 
Stations.  There  is  an  abundant  yield  of  sugar¬ 
cane,  bamboo,  cocoa,  palm  oil,  peanuts,  corn, 
cassava,  plantains  or  bananas,  alligator  pears, 
pineapples  and  other  tropical  fruits.  From  the 
roots  of  the  cassava  the  Bulu  make  their  bread. 
Rubber  and  ivory  are  important  articles  of 
trade.  The  native  gardens  are  planted  and 
cared  for  by  the  women,  the  men  disdaining 
such  menial  work ;  but  in  the  Mission  schools, 
both  boys  and  girls  receive  practical  instruction 
in  agriculture  and  are  being  taught  the  dignity 
of  labor. 

General  Characteristics 

There  are  few  harbors  along  the  west  coast. 
Landings  are  made  on  an  open  sea  beach  and 
through  a  heavy  surf.  There  are  many  rivers 
big  and  little  coming  into  the  sea  on  the  west 
coast  of  Africa.  Few  of  them  are  navigable 
beyond  a  few  miles  back  from  the  coast,  where 
they  are  broken  into  rapids  among  the  heavily 
wooded  hills  of  the  coast  belt.  Over  the  hills  and 
across  these  rivers,  through  forests  where  the 
trees  rise  to  a  height  of  200  feet  the  missionary 
journeys  to  his  work  in  the  interior  where  most 
of  the  Stations  are  located.  Formerly  all  mis¬ 
sionary  men  traveled  on  foot  and  all  women 

5 


in  hammocks  borne  by  natives,  but  with  the 
development  of  governmental  roads,  bicycles  and 
motorcycles  are  now  much  used  by  the  mis¬ 
sionaries.  The  women  of  the  Stations  are  car¬ 
ried  in  wheel  chairs.  Every  clearing  and  road¬ 
way  has  been  wrested  from  the  hovering  forest, 
while  the  few  great  highways  lie  open  to  the 
sun.  Many  of  the  lesser  paths  lose  themselves 
in  the  forest,  save  to  the  knowing  native.  Often 
for  long  distances,  they  follow  the  bed  of  a 
brook  where  the  traveler  wades  in  water  vary¬ 
ing  in  depth  from  ankle  to  thigh.  The  forest  is 
threaded  with  these  paths  which  connect  native 
villages. 

The  native  system  of  currency  is  barter  and 
whether  it  were  the  price  which  the  heathen 
gave  for  his  child  bride  or  the  grateful  offering 
of  a  Christian  at  a  communion  service,  the  pay¬ 
ment  was  formerly  made  in  yards  of  cloth,  cut¬ 
lasses,  salt,  iron  pots,  chickens,  sheep  or  dogs, 
but  with  the  opening  of  the  region  to  the 
outside  world,  coin  is  now  being  increasingly 
used,  and  the  native  Christian  is  supporting  his 
work  and  making  his  offering  with  the  envelope 
system  the  same  as  in  Christian  lands. 

Native  Character  and  Institutions 

Polygamy  with  its  kindred  vices  is  predomi¬ 
nant.  Slavery  still  exists  as  a  domestic  institu¬ 
tion  although  no  slaves  are  now  exported  from 
the  West  Coast.  Native  beer  is  made  from  over¬ 
ripe  bananas  and  sour  wine  from  the  sap  of 
palms;  but  the  rum,  gin  and  whiskey  of  the 


6 


white  trader  have  been  from  the  beginning  a 
far  more  debauching  influence  and  have  greatly 
hindered  the  effectiveness  of  missionary  labor. 
In  later  years,  however,  the  liquor  traffic  has 
been  to  some  extent  regulated  and  under 
French  rule  prohibition  is  now  general  through¬ 
out  the  Cameroun. 

Religion 

The  native  religion — or  substitute  for  religion 
— is  Fetishism,  a  system  of  superstition,  charms 
— or  fetishes — and  magic,  which  is  a  veritable 
bondage.  This  is  based  upon  the  general  con¬ 
viction  of  the  people  that  they  are  left  to  the 
power  of  minor  and  malign  spirits.  The  people 
suffer  with  many  diseases,  for  the  healing  of 
which,  when  their  simple  herb  remedies  avail 
nothing,  they  have  recourse  to  spells  and 
charms.  These  failing,  the  illness  is  attributed 
to  witchcraft.  The  witch  doctor  is  called  in  to 
discover  the  guilty  party.  The  patient  suc¬ 
cumbs  to  disease  or  to  the  remedies  applied  and 
he  who  has  supposedly  bewitched  him  falls 
under  the  judgment  of  his  townspeople  and  is 
subject  to  trial  by  poison  or  to  other  forms  of 
retribution. 

The  Missionary  Method 

missionary  enterprise  in  West  Africa  differs 
V.  J  from  that  of  any  other  field  under  the  care  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board  in  that  its  concern  is  with 
a  primitive  race  untouched  by  civilization  and  for 
the  most  part  unacquainted  with  any  form  of  gov- 


7 


ernment,  save  their  own  crude  tribal  system.  Here 
the  vastness  of  the  missionary’s  task  in  inverse  ratio 
to  the  supply  of  missionaries  has  developed  a  sys¬ 
tem  of  evangelism  through  an  educated  native  min¬ 
istry  aided  by  native  workers  of  varying  degrees  of 
Christian  attainment  and  training,  under  the  care¬ 
ful  supervision  of  the  missionary.  The  results  have 
far  surpassed  all  expectations  in  the  development 
of  Christian  character  in  the  workers  and  in  the 
great  multitudes  of  those  who  have  thus  been  turned 
“from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God.” 

Phases  of  Mission  Effort 

Mission  work  is  conducted  mainly  along  four 
definite  lines. 

1.  Evangelistic: 

a.  Church  Work ;  Church  centers  with  outlying 
Communion  points  which  the  missionary 
visits  periodically,  examining  candidates 
and  Christians  and  administering  Baptism 
and  the  Lord’s  Supper. 

h.  Village  Itineration. 

e.  Caravan  Rest  House  AVork. 

2.  Educational: 

a.  Day  and  Boarding  Schools  at  Stations — all 
school  instruction  since  the  War  given  in 
French. 

b.  Village  Schools.  There  are  hundreds  of 
Bulu  schools  scattered  throughout  the  vil¬ 
lages — one  of  the  glories  of  the  Mission. 
The  immediate  problem  (1921)  of  the  school 
work  in  the  Mission  is  the  difficulty  of  ade- 


8 


quately  equipping  the  schools  for  the  teach- 
of  French,  which  is  the  language  of  the 
Protectorate  and  is  required  by  the  Govern¬ 
ment.  This  problem  must  be  met,  as  it  in¬ 
volves  the  future  of  the  educational  work 
among  the  native  Christians  who  are  the 
hope  of  Africa’s  night, 
c.  Theological  Seminaries. 

3.  Industrial:  Industrial  training  schools- — notably 
the  Frank  D.  James  Industrial  School  at  Elat. 

4.  Medical:  Small  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  al¬ 
ways  badly  handicapped  in  the  face  of  extreme 
need  and  tremendous  opportunity  by  scarcity 
of  physicians  and  of  medical  and  surgical  sup¬ 
plies.  In  the  year  1920,  more  than  51,000  treat¬ 
ments  were  given  to  out-patients  and  over 
1,600  were  cared  for  in  the  seven  hospitals  by 
the  five  physicians  of  the  Mission.  The  West 
Africa  Mission  offers  a  glorious  opportunity 
to  the  medical  missionary.  Those  also  who  feel 
the  drawings  of  child  welfare  work  find  here  a 
great  field.  Of  children  born  in  Africa,  65% 
die  through  ignorance,  disease,  poverty,  super¬ 
stition  and  lack  of  proper  nourishment  before 
they  are  two  years  old. 

History  and  Development  of  the  Mission 

The  foundations  of  Protestant  Mission  work  in 
West  Africa  were  laid  in  1842  by  three  men  and 
their  wives  sent  out  by  the  American  Board  of  Com¬ 
missioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  who  established  the 
Gaboon  Mission  at  Baraka  (now  Libreville  in  the 


9 


French  Congo)  on  the  West  Coast  of  Africa.  Here 
schools  were  founded  and  other  preparatory  work 
was  done,  but  the  unhealthfulness  of  the  climate 
made  it  hard  to  keep  a  sufficient  force  on  the  field 
and  the  scarcity  of  reinforcements  left  Baraka  in 
1870  the  only  station  in  Gaboon.  Meanwhile,  in 
1850,  the  Presbyterian  Board  had  opened  a  station 
on  the  beautiful  island  of  Corisco  in  the  hope  that 
the  insular  position  would  insure  exemption  from 
fever;  but  the  island  proved  as  unhealthful  as  the 
mainland  and  in  1864  a  new  Station  was  opened  on 
the  coast  at  Benito. 

These  pioneer  Stations  of  the  West  Africa  Mission 
were  the  scenes  of  the  wonderful  labors  of  Miss  Isa¬ 
bella  A.  Nassau,  Robert  H.  Nassau,  M.D.,  Mrs.  R.  H. 
de  Heer  and  Mrs.  M.  L.  Reutlinger.  In  1871  the 
Presbyterian  Board  took  over  the  work  at  Baraka 
and  ten  years  later  opened  another  Station  at  An- 
gom.  All  of  these  except  Benito  were  finally  trans¬ 
ferred  to  the  Paris  Evangelical  Missionary  Society. 
Shortly  before,  in  1889,  a  new  missionary  center  had 
been  established  at  Batanga  in  German  Kamerun 
with  the  purpose  of  gaining  access  from  there  to  the 
higher  and  more  healthful  inland  regions.  In  taking 
this  step  the  Mission  was  manifestly  led  of  God. 
The  appeal  of  the  Gospel  has  met  with  an  undreamed 
of  response  and  a  marvelous  work  has  developed  in 
the  interior  part  of  the  field. 

From  Batanga  as  a  center,  the  devoted  missionary, 
Rev.  Adolphus  C.  Good,  D.D.,  made  long  and  care¬ 
ful  exploration  of  the  country  to  the  eastward, 
finally  establishing  the  first  inland  Station  at  Efulen, 
in  1893,  57  miles  from  Batanga.  He  reduced  the 


10 


Bulu  language  to  writing  and  translated  the  Gospel. 
In  the  years  that  have  followed  several  self-support¬ 
ing  churches  have  been  built  and  “in  all  that  region 
of  a  Sunday,  the  little  paths  of  the  forest  are  alive 
writh  church-goers.”  The  people  of  this  region  are 
the  senior  Christians  of  the  interior  tribes.  They 
have  accepted  the  responsibility  for  the  work  of  the 
south  and  east  and  a  great  evangelistic  work  has 
resulted. 

Here,  too,  Scliauffler  Hospital  ministers  to  the 
needs  of  a  multitude  scattered  far  and  near,  many 
having  walked  over  100  miles  to  reach  the  Hospital, 
some  carrying  physical  burdens. 

During  his  last  journey  in  1895,  Dr.  Good  selected 
a  site  at  Elat,  75  miles  east  of  Efulen  for  the  second 
interior  station.  Here  a  promising  Boys’  School 
and  a  church  were  organized  and  later  on,  the  Frank 
D.  James  Industrial  School  was  established.  Here 
saw-mill,  printing  press  and  blacksmith  and  machine 
shops  are  in  active  operation  and  the  boys  become 
proficient  in  the  making  of  bush  rope,  teak  wood  and 
mahogany  furniture,  implements,  shoes,  straw  hats, 
tropical  helmets  and  men’s  clothing.  The  press  is 
a  great  factor  in  the  evangelistic  work  of  the  Mission 
and  many  of  the  apprentices  have  refused  more  lu¬ 
crative  work  that  they  may  help  to  bring  the  Gospel 
to  their  fellow-men.  The  work  at  the  school  has 
greatly  impressed  the  new  Governor  of  South  Cam- 
eroun,  who  has  expressed  himself  as  desirous  of  aid¬ 
ing  the  missionaries  in  every  possible  way. 

It  is  impossible  to  mention  Elat  without  comment¬ 
ing  on  the  great  response  of  this  region  to  the  Gos¬ 
pel,  and  while  statistics  must  alter  from  year  to 


11 


year,  those  of  Elat  have  always  been  matters  of 
marvel.  In  1920  the  average  attendance  at  the  eight 
churches  under  supervision  of  Elat  Station  was  20,- 
000  souls. 

On  one  of  Dr.  Good’s  exploring  trips  he  came 
upon  a  village  of  dwarfs.  In  response  to  his  pub¬ 
lished  appeal,  Miss  Margaret  McLean  of  Scotland 
offered  to  support  a  mission  work  among  the  dwarfs 
if  the  Presbyterian  Board  would  undertake  it.  A 
Station  was  accordingly  opened  at  Lolodorf  in  1897 
which  as  the  McLean  Memorial  bears  the  name  of 
its  founder.  Three  churches  and  a  Theological 
Seminary  have  been  built  and  from  these  centers 
Christian  workers  and  students  go  forth  to  win  souls. 
The  work  among  the  dwarfs  is  very  largely  carried 
on  by  the  Christians  of  the  superior  tribes  of  this 
region,  who  sacrifice  themselves  to  wander  in  the 
forest  and  lead  these  little  people  to  Christ. 

Additional  Stations  were  opened  in  1908  at  Metet 
and  in  1916  at  Poulassi,  two  points  respectively 
northeast  and  east  of  Elat.  At  both  places  the  same 
eager  hunger  for  the  Gospel  is  manifested  in  large 
congregations  of  hundreds  and  sometimes  of  several 
thousands  at  the  churches  of  the  Stations  and  out¬ 
posts  while  the  changed  lives  and  evangelistic  zeal 
of  multitudes  give  evidence  of  the  purpose  to  be 
“doers  of  the  Word  and  not  hearers  only.” 

By  the  terms  of  the  Treaty  at  Versailles  nine- 
tenths  of  the  Kamerun  was  given  to  the  French  and 
one-tenth  to  the  British.  The  capital  of  the  French 
Colonies  on  the  coast  has  been  moved  from  Libre¬ 
ville  to  Yaounde,  which  will  be  connected  by  rail 
with  Doula,  the  seaport.  This  will  bring  Metet  and 


12 


Eoulassi  within  100  miles  of  the  capital — or  two  days’ 
journey  by  bicycle  or  motorcycle.  The  Mission  is 
planning  to  open  a  Station  at  Yaounde  in  the  near 
future. 

The  Call  of  the  Regions  Beyond 

The  withdrawal  of  the  Germans  from  the  Kamerun 
left  unshepherded  the  well-established  work  of  the 
Swiss  and  German  missionaries  in  that  region,  em¬ 
bracing  an  area  of  two  hundred  and  ninety  thousand 
square  miles  and  an  estimated  population  of  over 
three  and  one-half  millions.  Our  Presbyterian  Board 
has,  therefore,  assumed  the  responsibility  for  the 
four  Stations  in  Edea  District,  known  as  Edea,  Sak- 
bayeme,  SoDibanga  and  Mengale,  but  at  present 
(1921)  because  of  lack  of  missionaries  has  occupied 
only  one  Station,  Sakbayeme.  There  are  now  in  this 
new  territory  over  four  thousand  baptized  Chris¬ 
tians  and  nearly  an  equal  number  of  catechumens, 
besides  more  than  six  thousand  pupils  in  schools. 
“A  great  burden,”  wrote  the  late  Dr.  Halsey,  “to 
place  on  the  overworked  missionaries  of  the  West 
Africa  Mission.”  But  the  field  is  ready  for  the  har¬ 
vesting  and  already  Mohammedanism  has  taken  ad¬ 
vantage  of  the  opportunity.  At  one  point  there  is 
a  large  hut,  from  the  roof  of  which  the  faithful  are 
called  twice  daily  to  prayer. 

“It  is  immeasurably  harder,”  writes  a  mission¬ 
ary,  “to  win  to  Christ  the  Moslem  African  than  the 
pagan  African.  But  in  the  hearts  where  Christianity 
has  first  had  a  hearing,  Islam  finds  little  response.” 
“Have  we  not,”  pleads  another,  “a  responsibility 
here  that  cannot  be  overlooked  to  push  forward  and 


13 


claim  the  land  for  Christ  before  Mohammedanism 
winds  its  tentacles  about  these  simple  folks?” 

To  the  north  and  east  also  there  is  a  well  nigh 
unlimited  field,  where  the  tribes  in  their  cry  for 
the  Gospel  “are  as  thirsty  men  fighting  for  water.” 

“The  major  hardship  of  the  modern  missionary  is 
the  intolerable  weight  of  the  things  undone  in  this 
day  of  unlimited  opportunity.  The  region  beyond 
haunts  him  by  night,  as  the  clamor  of  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  beats  about,  him  by  day.  This  need  is  a  contin¬ 
ued  crying  at  the  door  of  the  missionary’s  bark 
house.” 

Mustard-Seed  Growth 

An  illustration  of  the  growth  of  the  Gospel  seed, 
typical  of  the  progress  at  all  of  the  interior  stations, 
was  recently  (1921)  cited  by  the  late  Rev.  A.  W. 
Halsey,  D.D.  Dr.  Halsey’s  visit  to  the  West  Africa 
Mission  in  1904  was  a  major  factor  in  its  develop¬ 
ment.  Regarding  a  conference  of  Christians,  meet¬ 
ing  in  1920  for  several  days  at  Efulan,  he  wrote : 

“At  the  Sunday  service  7,000  persons 
gathered  in  and  around  the  Efulen  Church. 
Many  of  these  were  Ntum  Christians  who 
came  from  the  district  south  of  Efulan.  Fif¬ 
teen  years  ago  there  were  only  three  Ntum 
Christians  in  all  the  Mission.  Now  thousands 
of  these  people  are  attending  the  Church 
services  and  trying  to  ‘get  right  with  God.’ 

It  was  a  great  act  of  racial  sacrifice  on  the 
part  of  the  Bulu  Christians  of  Efulen  to 
give  up  their  homes  for  a  week  and  furnish 
food  and  lodging  to  their  fellow  Christians, 
for  until  very  recently,  as  of  old,  the  Bulu 
had  no  dealings  with  the  Ntum.  The  Gospel 
breaks  down  racial  prejudices.” 


14 


Any  sketch  of  the  West  Africa  Mission  would  be 
incomplete  without  a  statement  regarding  the  re¬ 
markable  enthusiasm  and  devotion  of  the  native 
Church  in  the  matter  of  giving.  Self-help  has  been 
a  conspicuous  fruit  of  this  great  modern  missionary 
effort  in  Africa.  Back  in  the  early  80 ’s,  the  wonder¬ 
ful  native  pastor,  Ibia  of  Corisco,  the  first  convert  of 
the  Mission,  raised  for  his  people  the  standard  of  self- 
support  in  church  and  school  and  throughout  the 
entire  Mission  area  those  whose  lives  have  been  re¬ 
deemed  from  destruction  have  responded  to  the  mis¬ 
sionaries’  appeal  with  a  glad  dedication  of  self  and 
time  and  money  “unto  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel.” 
In  1914,  the  Mission  reported  seven  principal  Sta¬ 
tions — each  manned  by  a  white  missionary  or  a  mis¬ 
sionary  and  his  wife — and  73  Outstations.  Six  years 
later,  in  1920,  but  one  more  Station  is  reported,  but 
the  73  Outstations  have  become  683 !  These  Outsta¬ 
tions  are  manned  by  native  Christians  and  supported 
by  the  native  Church.  The  gifts  of  these  Christians 
in  the  year  cited  amounted  to  $15,049  and  the  average 
church  attendance  throughout  the  Mission  on  a  Sun¬ 
day  was  68,241.  With  an  adequate  missionary  equip¬ 
ment  what  might  not  be  wrought  among  these  re¬ 
sponsive  people ! 

In  the  words  of  a  gifted  missionary  writer: 

“Surely  the  volume  of  these  statistics  has 
meaning  to  you.  Those  drums  that  clamor  in 
the  dawn  of  a  Sunday  morning,  calling  the 
Christians  of  unnumbered  villages  to  keep 
Holy  Day ;  these  files  of  men  and  women  who 
go  to  God’s  house  by  the  dim  ways  of  the 
forest  or  the  sun-smitten  ways  of  the  beach ; 
these  heavy  loads  of  copper  moneys  that 


15 


come  in  from  the  many  Christian  communi¬ 
ties;  these  witnesses  to  our  Lord  Jesus  who 
speak  morning  and  evening  in  the  palaver 
houses  of  obscure  villages ;  these  mothers  who 
teach  their  little  black  children  to  pray ;  these 
young  wives  who  follow  their  evangelist  hus¬ 
bands  on  long  missionary  journeys— -this 
mustering  of  Ethiopia— surely  this  must 
mean  much  to  you  ?  ’  ’ 

Ethiopia  is  indeed  stretching  out  her  hands  unto 
God.  Her  utter  need,  her  eager  longing,  her  menac¬ 
ing  ignorance,  and  her  overwhelming  response  to  the 
Message  are  a  challenge  to  the  Church  at  home. 

Note:  For  most  recent  statistics  of  the  West  Africa 
Mission  consult  the  current  Annual  Report  of  The 
Foreign  Board. 


October,  1921. 


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